Punjab Police busts inter-state mule account racket in cybercrime fraud; four arrested with ₹10.96 lakh cash, mobiles, SIM cards, and debit cards. Racket laundered money abroad via cryptocurrency.
In a major breakthrough against financial cybercrime, Punjab Police’s State Cyber Crime Wing has dismantled an inter-state mule account racket responsible for duping thousands of victims across India, arresting four individuals and recovering ₹10.96 lakh in cash along with nine mobile phones, a laptop, 32 debit cards, 10 SIM cards, 15 bank passbooks, and one cheque book. Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab, Gaurav Yadav, confirmed the arrests and said the accused were actively involved in acquiring bank accounts—often from economically weaker sections—for small sums and then using them to launder and transfer proceeds of cyber fraud to foreign destinations via cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance and DCX. Those arrested have been identified as Gautam (23), Ehsas (24), and Akash (20), all residents of Amritsar, and Anmol (21) from Fazilka. Anmol was reportedly operating mule accounts full-time, while others were engaged in different roles to facilitate the fraud. Police officials revealed the racket had been operational for nearly two years, running hundreds of mule accounts across Punjab. Special DGP Cyber Crime V Neeraja stated that the breakthrough followed data analysis of over 6,000 mule accounts flagged by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), MHA. This led to the registration of an FIR against 300 mule accounts linked to Punjab Gramin Bank, with investigators tracing 100 accounts to a single hotspot in Abohar. The probe further revealed that the accused were connected to multiple cybercrime groups on Telegram, with administrators suspected to be operating from South-East Asia. These foreign handlers trained local operatives in converting Indian currency into cryptocurrency, while Anmol allegedly acted as a key supplier, sending mule kits via courier to associates in Amritsar. They would activate internet banking and receive 10–20% commissions for facilitating illicit transfers. DGP Yadav stressed the seriousness of this criminal ecosystem and said further investigations are underway to identify the masterminds, including possible collusion of bank officials. All four accused are currently on police remand. Authorities have also issued a public advisory urging citizens not to share their bank accounts or SIM cards for money or job offers, warning such details are exploited for cyber fraud. Victims of cybercrime are advised to immediately call the national helpline 1930 for timely reporting and recovery of funds.
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